Today, my writing day, is Veteran’s Day. Anyone who knows me knows I grew up in a family of war veterans, and have the utmost respect for anyone who’s served. I was going to write my post on Veterans and their sacrifice, but I’m really not one to do things the way everyone else does, and it just seems too cliché to write about Veterans on Veteran’s Day. Veterans should be honored on any day, not just today, and so I will keep my post to myself for now and honor them another day with my writing. Today I do want to say, “Thank you” to the men, women, and canines who have served. Truly and sincerely from my heart I thank you all.
This last week has been an interesting one. My office has relocated to a fantastic new space, my office at home is coming together more and more (and the spiders are here less and less – you know that’s an important factor), but what inspired today’s blog post was a friend who had a serious health issue. He’s on the mend and with his illness came my desire to help in the one way I learned as a child – I make soup.
My mother has been a master soup maker as long as I can remember. She had me in the kitchen as soon as I was old enough to stand on a stool and stir with a spoon. She’d tell me about the healing qualities of different foods, and in particular – chicken soup.
The healing qualities of chicken soup are so potent it’s also called “Jewish Penicillin.” I wish I could whisper to you the special way to simmer it, or the super-secret-ingredient that’s been handed down from generation to generation, but honestly it’s one of the easiest soups to make. The ingredients may be simple, but don’t be fooled by the simplicity. The healing power of chicken soup is legendary.
Chicken soup is the ultimate comfort food. It’s warm, soothing, easy to digest, full of vitamins and protein – things your body needs to heal itself. Chicken soup supports our immune systems, and our immune systems could sure use some support. Stress is notoriously bad for our bodies. In addition to the often discussed high blood pressure and heart attacks, it also creates chronic inflammatory conditions and lowers our immunity which increases our vulnerability to infections and autoimmune disease.
Research has shown that chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory and temporarily speeds up mucus through the nose. This reduces congestion and limits the amount of time viruses are in contact with the lining of your nose. Plus, the additional liquids help loosen chest congestion and prevent dehydration.
A researcher and pulmonary expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Dr. Stephen Rennard, found that chicken soup performed better at reducing cold symptoms than just hot water. Modern scientists have never completely figured out the reason why chicken soup is so much more effective, maybe that’s because science can’t measure the love and kindness that goes into making chicken soup for a loved one who’s sick.
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Think about it: when you’re not feeling well it’s a comfort to be cared for by another, and when we were sick as children it was likely a parent’s love and reassurance made us feel better. Homemade soup has one essential ingredient that is lacking in the store-bought version, compassion.
My kids know chicken soup is great for healing. They’ve stood beside me in the kitchen, like I did with my mother a million times, and we talk about who we’re making the soup for and how we want them to hurry up and feel better. There’s kindness and well-wishes in every bit of chopped vegetable and shred of chicken. It’s not magic… not really, but with everything out there that’s so bad for us what can be more healing than something made with love?
I’m sure you’ve heard of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. Books filled with stories that inspire, motivate, and heal men, women, children, nurses, volunteers, dog lovers… there’s literally a Chicken Soup out there for every type of soul.
Everyone wants to feel better, and when they do they reach for chicken soup.
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